Dish Net and Method of Using

ABSTRACT

A dish net and method of using is presented. The dish net comprises a body being configured to be placed over a rack of a dishwasher. The body comprises a net material being formed to have a top, a rear wall, a front wall and two side walls. An elastic hem is configured to grasp the rack. The elastic hem is joined to bottom ends of the rear wall, front wall and side walls, in which the elastic hem being placed about a perimeter of the rack, secures the body over the rack and the body restrains items placed on the rack during operation of the dishwasher.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office,patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the invention generally relate to cleaningproducts. More particularly, one or more embodiments of the inventionrelate to an accessory for dishwashers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following background information may present examples of specificaspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts,or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educatethe reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof,to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. Dishwasherstypically provide a desired convenience. However, dishwashers may oftenproduce the opposite result. Since many cups, bowls and glasses arelightweight, these items may be easily overturned and displaced in adishwasher due to the force of water pressure produced during a typicaldishwasher cycle. When a user opens a dishwasher after a cycle, the usermay find glasses, bowls, and other small kitchenware, which aregenerally washed upon the top rack, to be turned right-side-up and fullof dirty water and food particles that were meant to be rinsed away bythe dishwasher. Items that collect dirty water may not actually begetting clean, and if any of the dirty water falls from these items uponitems on the bottom rack, the items on the bottom rack may not be cleaneither. This may result in the need to wash some or all of these itemsagain. The need to rewash items may result in added expenses ofoperating a dishwasher and may result in wasting water, detergent andelectricity. Also, since the water pressure within a dishwasher may beable to move many of the items in the top rack, some fragile items maybe subject to damage from unintentional contact as the items move aroundthe rack. Furthermore, the high temperature of the water generally usedin a dishwasher has the potential to burn users, especially if itemscollect hot water.

In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniquesare not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate an exemplary dishwasher net, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is aside perspective view. FIG. 1B is a side perspective view of a corner ofthe dishwasher net, and FIG. 1C is a front perspective view of thedishwasher net in use on an upper dishwasher rack; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for attaching adish net to and from a dishwasher rack, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are best understood by reference tothe detailed figures and description set forth herein.

Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to theFigures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatthe detailed description given herein with respect to these figures isfor explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limitedembodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that those skilled inthe art will, in light of the teachings of the present invention,recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, dependingupon the needs of the particular application, to implement thefunctionality of any given detail described herein, beyond theparticular implementation choices in the following embodiments describedand shown. That is, there are numerous modifications and variations ofthe invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit withinthe scope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read asplural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, whereappropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply thatthe two are mutually exclusive.

It is to be further understood that the present invention is not limitedto the particular methodology, compounds, materials, manufacturingtechniques, uses, and applications, described herein, as these may vary.It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be notedthat as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is areference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof knownto those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a referenceto “a step” or “a means” is a reference to one or more steps or meansand may include sub-steps and subservient means. All conjunctions usedare to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, theword “or” should be understood as having the definition of a logical“or” rather than that of a logical “exclusive or” unless the contextclearly necessitates otherwise. Structures described herein are to beunderstood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures.Language that may be construed to express approximation should be sounderstood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art to which this invention belongs. Preferred methods,techniques, devices, and materials are described, although any methods,techniques, devices, or materials similar or equivalent to thosedescribed herein may be used in the practice or testing of the presentinvention. Structures described herein are to be understood also torefer to functional equivalents of such structures. The presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to embodimentsthereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

From reading the present disclosure, other variations and modificationswill be apparent to persons skilled in the art. Such variations andmodifications may involve equivalent and other features which arealready known in the art, and which may be used instead of or inaddition to features already described herein.

Although Claims have been formulated in this Application to particularcombinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of thedisclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature orany novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly orimplicitly or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates tothe same invention as presently claimed in any Claim and whether or notit mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does thepresent invention.

Features which are described in the context of separate embodiments mayalso be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely,various features which are, for brevity, described in the context of asingle embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitablesubcombination. The Applicants hereby give notice that new Claims may beformulated to such features and/or combinations of such features duringthe prosecution of the present Application or of any further Applicationderived therefrom.

References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,”“various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of theinvention so described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated useof the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” donot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.

As is well known to those skilled in the art many careful considerationsand compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimalmanufacture of a commercial implementation any system, and inparticular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercialimplementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of thepresent invention may configured according to the needs of theparticular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s),result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachingsrelated to any described embodiment of the present invention may besuitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improvedand/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skillsand known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation thataddresses the needs of the particular application.

It is to be understood that any exact measurements/dimensions orparticular construction materials indicated herein are solely providedas examples of suitable configurations and are not intended to belimiting in any way. Depending on the needs of the particularapplication, those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in lightof the following teachings, a multiplicity of suitable alternativeimplementation details.

An embodiment of the present invention comprises a sheet of meshednetting material, a protective coating applied upon the meshed nettingmaterial, and a durable, elasticized rubber border about the hem of themeshed netting material. Some embodiments can be securely applied uponand over a dishwasher rack to generally prevent the contents of the trayfrom overturning and collecting water during the washing process andtypically maintain cups, bowls, utensils and other dishware in theirdesired positions within a dishwasher.

FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate an exemplary dishwasher net 100, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is aside perspective view. FIG. 1B is a side perspective view of a corner ofdishwasher net 100, and FIG. 1C is a front perspective view ofdishwasher net 100 in use on an upper dishwasher rack 105. In thepresent embodiment, dish net 100 comprises a body 110 constructed of aone thousand (1,000) dernier, high-tenacity nylon material of one andone-half millimeter (1.5 mm) diameter in a woven format. In somealternate embodiments, the body may be made of various differentmaterials of adequate durability including but not limited topolypropylene (PP) of high-tenacity format, various different types ofwoven mesh, netting of various different diameters and dernier sizes,plastic cages, metal cages, porous fabrics, etc. In the presentembodiment, a coating of polyurethane is applied upon the nylon materialof body 110 by spray to generally ensure that body 110 is waterproof andheat resistant to provide resilience to net 100 within the extremeconditions of a dishwasher. This also helps maintain the flexibility anddurability of net 100. The nylon material of body 110 is produced as asheet in webbing format with the mesh openings of the sheet measuring asquare three-eighths of one inch (⅜×⅜) in size. Those skilled in the artwill readily recognize, in light of and in accordance with the teachingsof the present invention, that the mesh used for the body in somealternate embodiments may be coated with various different substances togenerally ensure a waterproof status and heat resistance such as but notlimited to acrylic and/or other various polymers/copolymers that containno volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or flammable materials. Thewaterproof coating generally ensures that dish net 100 does not collector absorb water so that net 100 may be quickly dried in a dishwasherdrying cycle and generally does not drip water upon dishwasher contents,even should the dishwasher be set to bypass the heated dry stage ofoperation. Moreover, since net 100 typically does not collect or absorbwater, net 100 is generally not subject to mildew or collection ofbacteria. Some alternate embodiments may be implemented without acoating. Furthermore, the mesh used for the body in some alternateembodiments may have larger or smaller openings so long as the size ofthe openings generally enables water to easily flow through the mesh toclean the items within the dishwasher and generally ensures that waterdoes not collect on the mesh, which may dry out the mesh or allow waterto drip from the mesh when the net is removed from a dishwasher tray.The prevention of dripping can generally ensure that no water drips ontothe floor to create a slip risk or a mess. The openings are also smallenough to provide sufficient contact with the items within thedishwasher rack to generally prevent the items from falling or turningupside down.

Referring to FIG. 1A, in the present embodiment, body 110 comprises atop plane 115 that measures twenty-one square inches (21″×21″), a rearwall 120 with a height of two inches (2″), a front wall 125 with aheight of six inches (6″), and two sidewalls 130 with a height of sixinches (6″) for a length of seven inches (7″) which then tapers at anangle of approximately thirty degrees (30°) to meet the two-inch (2″)height of rear wall 115. Body 110 is sized and shaped to cover the toprack of a dishwasher, for example, without limitation, dishwasher rack105, and its contents. It is contemplated that the sizes of the topplane and the walls of the dish net in some alternate embodiments mayvary for individual fitting upon various different dishwasher trays.Some embodiments may be implemented in specific sizes and shapes to fitupon specific makes and models of dishwasher trays. Other alternateembodiments may be made in variations of size and shape to fit uponvarious different areas of a dishwasher including without limitation,lower racks, a portion of a rack, utensil trays, etc.

In the present embodiment, about the perimeter of each wall, andattached to a hemline of body 110, is an elastic border 135 made ofthermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) of a half-inch (½″) height. Elasticborder 135 may be knitted or woven. The mesh of body 100 is embeddedinto elastic border 135 and then reinforced with additional stitching togenerally ensure that the mesh does not break away from border 135during use. Elastic border 135 generally maintains the placement of net100 on rack 105 and provides tension to net 100 to generally maintainthe position of the items within rack 105. In the present embodiment,elastic border 135 is durable and heat resistant and provides a thoroughgripping contact to rack 105. In some embodiments, the border maycomprise a textured surface to enhance this grip. It is contemplatedthat the elastic border in some alternate embodiments may use variousdifferent materials as a base that are of adequate durability within theinterior environment of a dishwasher such as but not limited tothermoplastic olefins (TPO), woven nylon, spandex and otherthermoplastic elastomers (TPE). Moreover, the mesh in some alternateembodiments may be secured to the border using various different meansincluding but not limited to adhesive, embedded integration, snaps,rivets, and/or any combination of such methods. In some alternateembodiments, the border of the dish net may be made in variations thatinclude, without limitation, other materials and/or appendages forattachment upon a dishwasher rack, such as but not limited to hooks,snaps, straps, and other means and/or materials.

Referring to FIG. 1C, in typical use of the present embodiment, afterfilling dishwasher rack 105 with dishware items to be washed, a user mayapply dish net 100 over the top plane of dishwasher rack 105. Rear wall120 is applied about the rear wall of rack 105, while front wall 125,which is longer than rear wall 120, is applied to the front wall of rack105. The user may then determine that elastic border 135 is in propercontact about the perimeter of dishwasher rack 105. The elastic materialof dish net 100 typically has adequate tensile strength to undergohigh-stress without deformation of body 100 and elastic border 135. Inaddition, the flexible design of dish net generally enables dishware ofvarious sizes to be securely positioned and restrained even when upon adishwasher rack at the same time. The user may then insert rack 105within the dishwasher and begin the wash cycle with comfort regardingthe security and proper washing of the contents of rack 105. After thedishwasher's operating cycle is complete, the user may open thedishwasher, retract rack 105 and remove dish net 100 from rack 105. Theuser may then remove the formerly-enclosed dishware, which is typicallystill in the desired position and generally has not collected water ormade damaging contact with other items in the dishwasher.

In the present embodiment, dish net 100 typically maintains dishwashercontents in their desired positions during a washing cycle and generallyprevents dishwasher contents from being overturned and displaced duringa washing cycle. By maintaining dishwasher contents in desiredpositions, dish net 100 generally prevents these contents fromcollecting dishwater. This generally ensures that these items remainclean and generally ensures that these items are immediately usable uponcompletion of a washing cycle with typically no need to wash thecontents again. If a user must run their dishwasher more than once toclean a single load, more energy is being used to power the dishwasher.More power usage means a greater demand on power resources and greaterutility costs for the user. Also, if the dishes are washed twice, twiceas much detergent is being introduced to the environment, which may bedetrimental to waterways, etc. By generally eliminating the need to washdishwasher contents a second time, dish net 100 does not leave its usersubject to additional utility costs for the operation of a dishwasherand enables the user to practice environmentally-responsible use of adishwasher. In addition, dish net 100 generally prevents collecteddishwater from spilling upon other items within a dishwasher togenerally ensure the full cleanliness of those items. Dish net 100typically keeps covered items in a restrained position, which maygenerally prevent these items from being subject to motion when inreceipt of the pressure of water during a wash cycle. This can generallyprevent covered items from falling and being subject to contact withother items, which is a common cause of breakage and other damage.Furthermore, dish net 100 can typically maintain contents in a flush tosurface position upon the dish-hosting rack, which may allow talleritems, such as, but not limited to, wine glasses, to be securely placedupon the top rack of a dishwasher with less risk of their rising to makecontact upon the top ceiling of a dishwasher. By maintaining itscontents in dishwasher rack 105, dish net 100 generally prevents itemsfrom falling from rack 105, which may generally prevent damage thatmight occur to items falling from rack 105, to other items, and to thedishwasher. Dish net 100 may also generally prevent damages and harm tousers that may result from contact with water of scalding temperature bytypically keeping dishware in the proper position to generally preventthe collection of scalding water. Also, since the risk of dishwarebreakage is reduced, the risk of being cut by broken dishware is reducedas well. Dish net 100 typically does not interfere with the regularoperation of a dishwasher. Dish net 100 is also generally long-lastingand durable.

Many embodiments of the present invention can appeal to residential andcommercial consumers. It is believed that it may be difficult for barsand restaurants to generally ensure a full, spotless clean on theirdishware as dishware typically must be washed quickly for adequateturn-around and is often washed with other dishware that may havecontained a variety of different food items. Furthermore, commercialdishwashers typically use higher water pressure for a faster cleaningtime. As a result, the glasses and dishes used in service environmentsare often more likely to suffer damage than common household dishware.Some embodiments can provide protection to dishes and glasses incommercial dishwashers and may generally ensure that these dishes andglasses remain in the desired position while being washed.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for attaching adish net to and from a dishwasher rack, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. In the present embodiment, attachment of thedish net is typically easier and faster than currently availableproducts and generally requires no fine motor skills. The design of thebody of the net in which the sidewalls angle up and the rear wall isshorter than the front wall generally enables the net to be easilyattached to the dishwasher rack. Reaching to the back of the rack can bedifficult even when the rack is fully withdrawn from the dishwasher.Also, there is not a lot of room to maneuver fingers or to see the backof the rack. The process begins in step 200 when a user reaches to therear of the rack with the short, rear wall of the net in hand. Then theuser uses his fingers to stretch the elastic border of the net over thetop lip of the rack in step 205. The rear wall only needs to stretchover the top lip so that the elastic border can grip the rack and doesnot have to reach all the way down the rear face of the rack, which isone reason why the rear wall of the net is only 2″ long. The elasticborder typically provides thorough grip to the rack and generally holdsthe net in place. As the user pulls the net over the rack from rear tofront in step 210, it becomes easier to maneuver the net as the usertypically has more space in which to move his arms and hands. Therefore,the user can pull the sidewalls and front wall of the net all the wayonto the front wall of the rack in step 215. This is one reason why thesidewalls and front wall of the net are longer than the rear wall. Inthe present embodiment, there are no hooks to connect, no holes toline-up, or no ties to tie, and in general fine motor skills are notrequired to attach the net. Due to the ease of application and removalof the dish net, it can be utilized by practically anyone including,without limitation, those who may suffer from mobility issues, gripand/or manual dexterity impairments, and those with poor vision.

In some alternate embodiments, the dish net may be made in variations inwhich the netting is attached upon a cylindrical roll, which may beattached to the rear face of a dishwasher rack. In these embodiments,the netting may be unrolled to cover the rack and retracted back intothe cylindrical roll to uncover the rack. These embodiments and otheralternate embodiments may be made in variations that are permanentlyattached upon a dishwasher rack as a regular feature within dishwashermodels from an original manufacturer or may be permanently attached tothe dishwasher rack by an end user. Alternatively, some of theseembodiments may be removable. It is contemplated that some alternateembodiments of the present invention may comprise a multiplicity ofsuitable additional features such as, but not limited to, hooks,removable panels, clips, storage cases, detergent dispensers, fans,being produced in various different colors, bearing various differentimages and/or logos, which may or may not be of registered trademarkand/or copyright status, etc.

Those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in light of and inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention, that any of theforegoing steps may be suitably replaced, reordered, removed andadditional steps may be inserted depending upon the needs of theparticular application. Moreover, the prescribed method steps of theforegoing embodiments may be implemented using any physical and/orhardware system that those skilled in the art will readily know issuitable in light of the foregoing teachings. For any method stepsdescribed in the present application that can be carried out on acomputing machine, a typical computer system can, when appropriatelyconfigured or designed, serve as a computer system in which thoseaspects of the invention may be embodied.

All the features disclosed in this specification, including anyaccompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternativefeatures serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise,each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series ofequivalent or similar features.

Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention,other equivalent or alternative methods of providing a net for adishwasher rack according to the present invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. The invention has been described above by wayof illustration, and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intendedto limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. For example,the particular implementation of the net may vary depending upon theparticular type of material used. The nets described in the foregoingwere directed to elastic implementations; however, similar techniquesare to provide nets made of inelastic materials such as, but not limitedto, rigid plastic. Non-elastic implementations of the present inventionare contemplated as within the scope of the present invention. Theinvention is thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or letteredsolely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numberingand lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken toindicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dish net comprising: a body being configured tobe placed over a rack of a dishwasher, said body comprising a netmaterial being formed to have a top, a rear wall, a front wall and twoside walls; and an elastic hem being configured to grasp the rack, saidelastic hem being joined to bottom ends of said rear wall, front walland side walls, in which said elastic hem being placed about a perimeterof the rack, secures said body over the rack and said body restrainsitems placed on the rack during operation of the dishwasher.
 2. The dishnet as recited in claim 1, in which a height of said rear wall isshorter than a height of said front wall to facilitate placement overthe rack.
 3. The dish net as recited in claim 2, in which heights ofsaid side walls taper from said front wall to said rear wall.
 4. Thedish net as recited in claim 1, further comprising stitching to securesaid elastic hem to said body.
 5. The dish net as recited in claim 1, inwhich said net material further comprises a heat and water resistantmaterial.
 6. The dish net as recited in claim 1, in which said netmaterial further comprises a nylon material in a woven format.
 7. Thedish net as recited in claim 1, in which said net material is coatedwith a polyurethane material.
 8. The dish net as recited in claim 1, inwhich a size of mesh openings in said net material mitigates collectionof water on said top.
 9. The dish net as recited in claim 1, in whichsaid elastic hem further comprises a rubber material.
 10. A dish netcomprising: a body being configured to be placed over a rack of adishwasher, said body comprising a net material being formed to have atop, a rear wall, a front wall and two side walls in which a height ofsaid rear wall is shorter than a height of said front wall to facilitateplacement over the rack, heights of said side walls taper from saidfront wall to said rear wall and a size of mesh openings in said netmaterial mitigates collection of water on said top, said net materialfurther comprising a heat and water resistant material; and an elastichem comprising a rubber material and being configured to grasp the rack,said elastic hem being joined to bottom ends of said rear wall, frontwall and side walls, in which said elastic hem being placed about aperimeter of the rack, secures said body over the rack and said bodyrestrains items placed on the rack during operation of the dishwasher;and stitching to secure said elastic hem to said body.
 11. The dish netas recited in claim 10, in which said net material comprises a nylonmaterial in a woven format.
 12. The dish net as recited in claim 10, inwhich said net material is coated with a polyurethane material.
 13. Amethod for using a dish net comprising the steps of: placing a dish netover a rack of a dishwasher in which the dish net comprises a body beingconfigured to be placed over the rack, the body comprising a netmaterial being formed to have a top, a rear wall, a front wall and twoside walls, the dish net further comprising an elastic hem beingconfigured to grasp the rack, said elastic hem being joined to bottomends of said rear wall, front wall and side walls; stretching theelastic hem at the rear wall over a rear face of the rack; pulling thebody over the rack from the rear to the front of the rack; and pullingthe front wall and the side walls about the front and sides of the rack,in which the elastic hem being placed about a perimeter of the rack,secures the body over the rack and the body restrains items placed onthe rack during operation of the dishwasher.
 14. The method as recitedin claim 13, in which a height of said rear wall is shorter than aheight of said front wall to facilitate placement over the rack.
 15. Themethod as recited in claim 14, in which heights of said side walls taperfrom said front wall to said rear wall.
 16. The method as recited inclaim 13, in which the dish net further comprising stitching to securethe elastic hem to the body.
 17. The method as recited in claim 13, inwhich the net material further comprises a heat and water resistantmaterial.
 18. The method as recited in claim 13, in which said netmaterial further comprises a nylon material in a woven format.
 19. Themethod as recited in claim 13, in which said net material is coated witha polyurethane material.
 20. The method as recited in claim 13, in whicha size of mesh openings in said net material mitigates collection ofwater on said top.